REVIEW ON A NEW LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR TRADITIONAL HEALERS IN SOUTH AFRICA

Abstract

Although traditional healers have been consulted by a large proportion of the South African population for many years, they enjoyed no official recognition until very recently. However, the situation is changing. The Traditional Health Practitioners Act 35 of 2004 was placed on the statute-book in 2004, but before its effect could be tested, the Constitutional Court found the Act invalid in Doctors for Life International v Speaker of the National Assembly 2006 6 SA 416 (CC), on 17 August 2006, because sufficient participation was lacking during the consideration of the Act. The government was thus obliged to publish the Traditional Health Practitioners Bill (B20/2007). The content of this draft bill is virtually in agreement with the provisions of its predecessor. In this article an exposition is given of the events preceding the commencement and the contents of the Traditional Health Practitioners Act. Following this, the decision of the Constitutional Court in Doctors for Life International v Speaker of the National Assembly and the effect thereof will be discussed beforeconcluding with a few remarks on the legal position and future of traditional healers in South Africa.